What happens in your scene?

  1. Porter is standing at the gate drinking
  2. He is drunk and pretends to talk with a farmer about Hell
  3. Macduff is up late and talks to the Porter about why he is drinking
  4. The next morning, everyone found out that the king had been killed
  5. They mourn about the king’s death and ring the bell
  6. They thought that the guards had killed the king due to the evidence of the blood upon their hands and clothes
  7. Lady Macbeth enters and all the men are shocked over the end
  8. Macbeth killed the two guards because he accuse them as a crime
  9. Donalbain flees to Ireland and Malcolm leaves also because of the fear for their lives

What do you think are the key purposes of your scene? In other words, why is this scene important?

This scene is important because it became the turning point of the play, which Macbeth becomes a king of Scotland. It also started the feeling of regret, which later in the play Lady Macbeth and Macbeth were suffering severely from the ghosts and bloodstains on their hands. After Macbeth was crowned as the king of Scotland, the power that he desire to maintain his position made him unemotional, evil, and no feeling of sympathy.

What are your reactions to this scene?

My reactions toward the scene tells me that the Porter’s description about Hell, where anyone who committed crime should belong, refer to as Macbeth’s willingness to maintain the power. Macbeth is willing to kill anyone who is interrupting him from keeping his throne. Therefore through the Porter’s explanation of Hell, I was able to notice the resemblance between Hell and Macbeth's power.


Character Report
Character(s) objective
The Porter’s objective in this scene is to keep the castle safe from outsiders.
Malcolm’s objective in this scene is to run away so he is not the next victim.
In addition, Donalbain’s objective is also to run away to Ireland so that he will be saved.
Macbeth’s objective in Scene III is not to be caught because he betrayed the nation.
Similarly, Lady Macbeth also does not want to get caught because she just as guilty as Macbeth.
On the other hand, Lennox shows loyalty to everyone including Macbeth.
Macduff tries to figure out who committed the crime against Duncan.
Banquo’s objective is to wait until the prophecy has come true.

Character(s) motivation
The Porter’s motivation in Scene III for keeping the castle safe is because it is his duty for the king.
Malcolm’s motivation in this scene for escaping is to keep distance from family’s blood.
Similarly, Donalbain’s motivation is to keep himself protected from any threats or attempts of assassination.
Controversial to Donalbain’s and Malcolm’s motivation, Macbeth’s motivation is to achieve the throne and to maintain that position.
Similar to Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s motivation to stay the wife of the king is to support Macbeth and to maintain kingship.
Macduff’s motivation in this scene is that he still believes that Duncan is the rightful king for Scotland.
Lennox’s motivation is to be loyal and serve the king with his own will.
Lastly, Banquo’s motivation for his success is to wait for the right timing to become the king.

Obstacles
The Porter’s obstacle is overcoming his own fear and relating the castle to hell.
Malcolm’s obstacle is his threat of being killed due to his family bloodline.
Donalbain’s obstacle is similar to Malcolm in being that he can also be killed.
Macbeth’s obstacle is everyone trying to find out that he had committed the crime except for Lady Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth’s obstacle is to prevent Macbeth from being overthrown from his throne.
Macduff’s obstacle is Macbeth who is trying to prevent Macduff from being in power.
Lennox’s obstacle is Macbeth because he does not fully trust Macbeth.
Banquo’s obstacle in this scene is Macbeth because Macbeth is maintaining the throne.

Distinctive elements in your character’s way of speaking
The distinctive elements in my characters’ ways of speaking are very intense and always speak with seriousness and certainty. During their conversation, they tend to pause often and express their emotional appeal.


Character(s) subtext
Porter- Knocking within symbolizes how he talks to himself
Macduff- Bell rings represents something tragic occurred

Scene Reflection
1. Evaluate the performance of your group. What went well? What didn’t go well?
I think all of us were pretty satisfied with the performance, primarily because all of us had put in equal effort and had performed as we had planned. What went well is that the delivery of the lines were clear, and we managed to draw some laughter from the audience. I think what had gone wrong, meanwhile, was the dead time between the first Lady Macbeth and the second Lady Macbeth. We had originally planned for both the Lady Macbeths to dress in black, but later decided that it would be better for the two to wear the same costumes. Thus, there was a considerably long dead time in changing the costumes.

2. How well did you contribute to your group?
I thought of putting the performance in a modern version and thought that during the play, I was able to be serious enough to act well as Lady Macbeth. Also, the best contribution that I thought I gave to my group was being able to cooperate with them.

3. How well did you perform as an individual?
I tried hard to reflect Lady Macbeth in the scene as realistically as possible. Though acting drunk was hard, I thought I was able to use small but significant props like the beer bottle, an all black costume with night sleepers to accurately show the context.

4. What could have improved your scene performance
?
As both a group and as an individual, I thought we could have used more props to make the scene more suitable. Also, because there was a number of small, minute props like slippers, I thought the audience was not able to relate well to these props. We could have also planned better such that there was no dead time between changing of the characters.

5. How did the scene performance help you better understand the play.

Since I had to act as Lady Macbeth, it allowed me to look at things, the current happenings from Lady Macbeth's perspectives. This was really important to better understanding the play since I could feel for the character and examine the context and background better than as a reader.